LAHORE: Pakistan’s major spin hope for the upcoming tour of England Yasir Shah has once again been hit by a crucial injury and ruled out of the game for at least a month.

However, with Pakistan’s first Test against England starting from July 14, Yasir is quite likely to get fit for the challenging series.

“Yasir is suffering from tear in the Lateral Meniscus along with small osteochondral defect. He needs conservative management which includes physical therapy and extensive rehabilitation. In our opinion he will recover in 4-5 weeks time,” a PCB press release stated on Monday.

Yasir was on the verge of resuming international cricket after clearing a three-month ban imposed on him by the ICC for using a banned substance for which he tested positive in December last year. However, his fresh injury which occurred soon after Pakistan Cup in Faisalabad, now threatens his career as this is the second such injury to him during the past two years.

Yasir made a fine start to his international career by completing the fastest 50 wickets haul in just nine Test matches for Pakistan. Australian wizard spinner Shane Warne had also praised Yasir as a fine future prospect in the world of cricket. But since then, the talented spinner has been out of action due to successive injuries coupled with the ICC ban.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2016